Terrible aesthetics and children's toys go hand in hand. Barbie's "Dreamhouse" is an uninspired architectural disaster, and the font used on most alphabet blocks leaves design-minded parents actually missing Comic Sans. But what's the alternative? How about a set of alphabet blocks with beautiful typography and iconography that also happen to assemble into a miniature model of the iconic Eames House.

At $150 you'e going to have to be fanatical about exposing your kids to great design to place an order, but the 36 wooden blocks made of Michigan basswood are all handmade and hand painted in the good ol' US of A. And they not only assemble to form Charles and Ray Eames' iconic Pacific Palisades home, but its neighboring design studio as well. So good luck explaining to your kids why that's more awesome than a castle. [NeatoShop]